This Love, This Hate
by SilentiumSemper
Summary: Run. Chase. Capture. Escape. Repeat. Theirs was a relationship not meant to be. But it sure as hell doesn't mean he won't stop trying.


**Disclaimer: I do not own either of the Bleach or Reborn franchise or their characters. **

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**Prologue**

_"There are some that only employ words for the purpose of disguising their thoughts._" - Voltaire

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"Hellooo! Who's he and where has he been all my life?"

Nel resisted to snort as she chuckled, laughing at Loly's remark. "Down girl. We get those and plenty and believe me, not all of them are worth it," she said absently, while tallying that day's receipts.

Loly scoffed while she came around the corner, leaning on the counter. "Not like that we don't," she continued in an appraising manner, which gave the green haired woman enough curiosity to look up with a laughing smile.

Her smile froze and her laughter died as she saw who Loly was admiring and quickly she looked the other way, in an effort to keep her rapidly failing composure. _No, no, no_, she cursed, breathing deeply in a way to keep calm.

Her companion smirked, misreading her reactions. "Told you. Oh, and I call dibs," she said, giving a slight lick to her bottom lip in an effort to look sultry and seductive, which worked if you were into bitchy girls.

Nel gave her an unreadable look, causing Loly to blink. "What?" She looked confused.

"Nothing. Just… not him, ok?" the woman gathered the receipts together and held them in place with a paper weight. "Mind the bar," she said lightly and in a rush, moving around the bewildered young woman and going to meet the young man standing at the entrance.

Long, silver hair that swept past his waist, well kept but unkempt enough to be masculine. He was obviously foreign and looked as though his scowl was painted on his face permanently. If he had been born scowling, Nel would have believed it. Equally anger silver eyes turned to her as she came up beside him, crossing her arms beneath her chest.

"What are you doing here?" she asked quietly.

"Voi! What kind of greeting is that?" His frown grew deeper, if that was possible, eyeing the woman closely before looking around the establishment. It was midday, so there weren't many costumers at the bar and not many employees either. "Where is she?" he asked, returning his eyes to Nel.

She met those eyes, calm even if her heart was pounding. She cursed herself for yet overcoming her attraction to the man before her. Ten years and he still made her swoon. How pathetic.

"Not here," she replied, her tone closed off.

"Obviously!" His voice rose and made some heads turned their way. Giving a slight wince to the unwanted attention, he cleared his throat and tried to continue quietly, albeit struggling. "Neliel, just tell me. He… just wants to talk," he paused, shifting in his stance at the uncomfortableness of the whole situation.

He wasn't used to "talking". He always let his sword do all the talking. Many disputes got settled if you put a sword to a guy's neck. However, he couldn't touch the woman in front of him and there was that tiny detail that he didn't want to. Even so, an order was an order and he couldn't return just yet until he got what his shitty boss wanted.

Nel bit her lip, breaking eye contact for a moment to look to the side. It was easy to just say what he wanted, to give up her friend's new hiding place. So many jobs, so many apartments. If she told the man before her, the chase would end and her friend could stop running. She would be protected, Nel knew that. But still, was it worth the price of her sanity?

She shook her head. "He had the opportunity to 'talk' a long time ago. And what did he do? Form a coupe' tat. No, Squalo. I won't tell you where she is. She needs time to heal."

The man, Squalo, swore silently under his breath and looked around again in an agitated fashion. People were watching them still, more intrigued than worried. It was rare for the green haired woman to be so familiar with a man. Usually she acted like if they were all strangers to be avoided. Loly watched from the counter, pouting up a jealous storm and waiting for her chance to talk to the man.

Scowling once more, Squalo asked, "Is there any place we can talk? Alone?" Again, he gave a mindful look to their surroundings.

Undaunted, Nel stood her ground. "Here's just fine," she replied.

"Neliel-"

"Squalo." Nel raised her hand, to silence him. She could feel her composure slipping and that hand wanted to both slap the man and drag him close. Her fingers tightened to a fist and she dropped it to her side. "No more… ok? We're both tired. If Orihime wants to talk to Xanxus, she'll go. Of her own free will. That's… all I can tell you."

The silver haired Italian looked like he was about to protest, but drew back, retreating for now.

If he pressed the issue, they'll just run again. Both Nel and Orihime, and then he would have to spend another six months following paper trails and guessing which fake names they had used.

One thing for sure, however. They could not run far enough from the influence of the Ouken Bloodline. That was the only reason why he continued to find them.

With a haggard sigh, Squalo turned on his heel, preparing to leave. "I'll let the two of you go right now. We have other trouble to deal with."

Nel winced at the wording stab but said nothing.

"Oh, and one more thing." Stopping at the door, Squalo turned to look at the green haired woman. Something passed his eyes and then it was gone, his tone becoming serious. "Be careful."

Blinking, tongue tied for a moment at the concern, Nel had to clear her throat before she could respond. "We've been dealing with your kind for a long time. We'll do just fine. But… Thank you, Squalo."

With a nod, the shark left and Nel let go of her breath, feeling as though she was going to collapse. She turned shakily back to the bar, where Loly waited eagerly to pounce.

"Well? Well? Who is he, Nel? And don't act dumb. It was obvious that the two of you knew each other!"

She passed by the nosy woman, sitting down on the barstool and she rubbed her temples. Loly frowned at being ignored but as the silence grew, she began to grow worried. Even if they went head to head sometimes, Nel was still her boss and still a friend.

"Hey… What's wrong? Did he say something to you?"

Nel jumped, looking startled. "Eh?" Gray eyes blinked and suddenly a bright smile appear. "Nothing! That was nothing. He was just an old cousin passing by! No worries! No worries! Now let's see last month's inventory was…"

She jumped back to counting the receipts and tallying, leaving Loly's question unanswered. The false cheeriness fooled no one and it only raised questions.

Nel bit her lip, trying to focus on the list of numbers. Her phone started to vibrate, startling her and she dropped several to the ground. Reaching for it, she swallowed as she saw who it was.

_Orihime._


End file.
